Saturday, February 26, 2011

It Finally Came!

Wow, two posts in one day!

This shouldn't be that long though. A few months ago, I put up a post stating that a short story I wrote would appear in an upcoming zombie anthology.

Well, the wait is over, and I can officially say that I am now a published author. Ahh, it is indeed a good day!

My story "Snow Days" appears in volume two of the anthology First Time Dead. I remember how excited I became when I got first received the news, and now that I have the actual book in my hands, it still feels like a dream.

A bigger unexpected surprise were the character illustrations that accompanied each story in the anthology. So my characters are even more real as opposed to just images in my head. That was indeed quite a nice surprise, and I was elated by how close those illustrations were to the actual characters I visualized when I first wrote it.

I'd like to thank May December Publications and editor TW Brown for including my story among the many other talented authors that make up both volumes of First Time Dead. I would also like to thank my family, and my friends both here in NYC and in Maine who helped me with their critiques! This is for you guys!!

This is a milestone for me, and hopefully not the last!

Until then!


The cover's not bad either!

My First Taste At Acting!

Hey Guys!

So, I just returned home after quite an eventful morning and mid-afternoon. Well, now that I think about it, it wasn't that eventful, but rather interesting and fun!

I am still keeping the precise details behind what happened today very hush, hush. It's a secret project that once completed will be released onto the Internet world, and allowed to walk on its own legs!

So, what am I talking about anyway? Haven't you been reading! I can't say, ha! Anyway, it was a small film project that involved a small group of us from NYHG. And, I got to do a bit of acting for it. I didn't have any lines, but my facial reactions were one of the many useful and required pieces to this project.

Below are several pictures I took throughout the course of our afternoon.

Kelly, Rose and Jane our NYHG film gurus, going over the storyboard!

Pic from outside the location.

Sorry this one came out a little dark. I was taking pics with my Iphone.
So, we all met in Chinatown, and discussed the final breakdown of the scenes during breakfast at a coffee shop nearby. We all had a laugh at how ingenious this thing was! To be honest, this little project was the collaborative brain child of myself and my Sifu.

We talked about it on a few occasions, and thought how cool and funny it would be to actually make this! Finally, he went ahead and said let's do it. Yeah, enough talking about it, let's just film it already! Once Kelly and Jane, our film and media artists, came on board, it was a go. My Sifu had already spoken to a good friend of his who owns a shop in Chinatown, so a location was already set.

Sifu Yui and Ben, prop suppliers and actors!

Rose and Jane making sure the equipment is ready to go.

And we're rolling, or was this a test shot? I can't remember!
I don't appear in any of these pictures, but I will in the final product! We only shot outside the store and inside, and it took about a couple of hours before we were done. It went by really fast. Even my portions were quick and only needed to be shot a couple of times. Again, facial reactions can be a little tricky, ha! But, I made the most of it. I have to say, it was fun, but I'll be too embarrassed to look at the finished product once it's done!

I think now we're filming!

Shop owner, Victor, and Sifu Yui, preparing for a scene.

Smiles all around at a great job so far!

Interior shots!

More preparations before go!
Like I said before, it was a fun afternoon to be with friends, do a little filming, a little acting and have some laughs! I want to thank Kelly, Rose and Jane for being the professionals that they are in their craft. You guys and gals rock! Thanks to Ben for coming out and playing a part in this project; you're our boom guy, Ben! To Sifu Yui for putting this on wheels and saying let's have fun with it!

And, a special thanks to Victor for allowing us to use his store, and for being a part of it!

Well, folks, there are still a few things that need to be done before this can hit post-production, but rest assured that when it comes out, I'll let you know. We'll unleash this onto the Internet world, and let start walking on its own. So look forward to it; although, I'll probably be hiding under my bed covers, ha!

Until next time!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dead Island - This Made Me Emotional Today

Hey, all, I know it's been a while since my last post!

***You can watch the trailer below either before reading on or after what I have written. Cheers!***

It's very rare that something makes me a little, or so teary eyed that I would go ahead and write something about it. It feels like I need to, what we call in Spanish desahogar me, or vent to get it out of my system.

As most of you out there who have read my posts know, and I want to thank you, I am a huge fan of zombie movies, books and games. I can go into a long discussion of which games I like and have played. But, the larger element that always held my imagination, curiosity and emotional state of mind is the human condition.

These stories, movies or games may be examples of survival horror, action or comedy, but, of my preferred collection they all had one thing in common - people, the characters were always affected emotionally and psychologically.

That was the gripping state of mind that always captured my curiosity and my sentimental side. I dare say that there were moments that I did cry when a character died, or he or she watched another, most likely a loved one, die right before their eyes. I felt fear or impending doom when the narrator of my treasured book, or the lead character(s) of my movie or game realized that there was no going back and that they were going to die after all.

Brain Keene's Dead series, all three of them, had moments that brought tears to my eyes, or made think Christ all mighty that was a horrible way to go! My favorite games, the Resident Evil series, only the ones that placed you within that fictional secluded mid-western town of Raccoon City, gave me moments of morbid guilt or pity. It's the scattered notebooks, Man! You know, the ones left behind by the once inhabitants of that fated town. George Romero's ORIGINAL Dawn of the Dead was built on the human interaction element that would ultimately lead to their confrontation and demise. Well, we don't know if Fran and Peter did survive after they flew away, but you get the picture. Even AMC's The Walking Dead had plenty of those moments, and I raved about how good that was!

So, what got me all teary eyed this time? Well, it was the cinematic trailer for the video game Dead Island. Game trailers for zombie games never made me so emotional. They made me excited, but never emotional. There was something about the way this trailer was put together that was both brilliant in design/editing and story that gripped my heart and wouldn't let it go because you knew where it was rewinding to. I say rewinding because the trailer runs backward from the end, with moments of forward running scenes to depict the sad story of the family in the trailer. I hope this made sense, but you'll see in the trailer below soon enough.

And, the additional element that gave the trailer an even sadder revelation was the piano and violin theme that played in the background. From the moment it starts playing and we look into that little girl's eye, we know a tragic tale is about to unfold before us. The other moment is when the trailer is rewinding through the scene where the father had rescued his daughter and we're seeing what happened to her. There's a moment where the video rewinds to the point where he begins to reach out for her and you can see the expression and emotion on his face as it slowly crawls to black. That moment was so gripping for me that I felt my heart thump hard and my tears swelled up in my eyes. It one of those moments where a million words could describe it, but none can capture that emotion just right.

I probably sound like a big cry baby! Ha!

It makes me think about my life and all the things I have lost or fought and struggled hard to achieve, and in the blink of an eye they were taken from me. My life is full of struggles and complications just like anyone else out there in this crazy mixed up reality we call life. I've had my share of joys and sorrows. I brought joy to others be it family, friends or special people in my life. Often times it didn't last, for a multitude of reasons, but I tried to hold on, to fight for it, even though I knew it was a losing battle and it was doing me more harm then good. Yet, I tried to hold on in hopes that something was still there, like standing by that bus stop for something that might never come or releasing that door nob ever so slowly in hopes that someone would open it after you. It just like that father fighting desperately to get to his daughter, taking her, but still somehow realizing that it was too late.

Como decirle a alguien que te quiero y te extraño , pero sabiendo que la persona no puede sentir lo mismo. Y sigo luchando por ti, pero no se porque. 


Ah Zombie Books, Movies and Games!! Why do you bring us such climatic action and carnage only to leave us with despair and moments of deep sadness and heartfelt pain. On the other hand, that just means that it was a good thought provoking read, or a well crafted and engaging story, game or movie! 

Well, that's enough of me talking. Go watch the trailer below, unless you have do so already in which case - WATCH IT AGAIN!! 

Until next time!

 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Japanese Classes

Well,

I finally committed to one of my goals, and I started taking Japanese classes. After years of watching Anime, Dramas, and the show Utaban, I finally decided that it was time to just register for official classes and try to learn this language.

I've been off and on for several years about actually taking classes, and at one point I even tried to teach myself. I got as far as learning Hiragana and a bit of Katakana, but my focus was slowly diminishing at the amount of no direction or lack of guidance I was dealing with.

Bottom line, I needed to be in a classroom setting and be taught by a professional. So, here I am.

As of this post, I have completed the first week of classes. I am enrolled at the Japan Society and my group meets twice a week, every Monday and Wednesday. It's a pretty diverse group with students my age, younger and older. Everyone is very enthusiastic, and our Sensei Mrs. Miyashita and her assistant Mrs. Hamada are both funny and very encouraging!

Just some of the introductory phrases and the Japanese alphabet that I look forward to learning, and in some cases relearning!
Worksheets and practice writing exercises!
More practice exercises from my textbook!
My textbook for busy people, how appropriate!

And, I have homework!! On top of my regular graduate studies obligations, I now have homework from my Japanese class. Cool!!

I'll manage, like everything else in my life. Besides, it's something that I want to the do, so it will be fun and productive. Trilingual status, hopefully, here I come!!!

Until next time, sayonara!!